Bulletproof Heart
by Mushmellow
Summary: "And beneath it all lies a heart of gold, imperial gold. But nobody gets to see it shine." She was Reyna, the tough, formal, aloof praetor. She knew no compassion or happiness. And nobody thought otherwise.
1. Wear That Mask

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing in the PJO/HoO series! It's all Rick Riordan's.**

**AN: I respect Reyna and I kinda like her. I hope she gets more of a role, so I can be sure I love her. Her back story is truly magnificent, though. Enjoy!**

A Heart of Golden Stone

a cold, hard mask,

formal, aloof, tough, she is

yet beneath it all lies a heart of gold,

imperial gold, to be exact.

but nobody gets close enough to see it s h i n e.

for a moment the mask slips and emotions comes through,

happiness, rage, tranquility, love,

but not long enough for someone to notice.

who's the real reyna?

sometimes even she forgets.

she was once at peace, too, you know

she was once happy and carefree and a typical girl

on a beautiful island with a beautiful sister

days going by

sometimes quickly, sometimes s l o w l y

something's wrong?

shh, better take no notice,

better let the big girls take care of it all

it wasn't her place to fight, no, no no.

it was her place to be happy and dream big girly dreams

be a queen just like her name.

but the happiness and the big girly dreams all washed away

vanished quickly,

too quickly,

and she found herself captive and crying

no longer the queen she'd always imagined being.

life goes on, she soon learnt.

better move on rather than dwell on the miserable past

a past that could've been so much more.

And so now she sits, clad in robes of deep purple,

on a chair fit for a queen,

no, fit for an emperor,

with the same usual cold, aloof expression on her face

business-like, this reyna knows no fun,

this reyna knows being an emperor is so much better than being a queen.

but still,

sometimes the mask slips

and she finds herself dreaming of the old days,

the old days of luxury and peace and dreaming up

fairy tales

the days of being a queen.

And she hopes against hope that someone,

Anyone,

Will notice and see just how different she feels in her heart,

Her imperial golden heart.

**A/N: Good? Bad? OK? Let me know :D**

**Thanks for reading, it means a lot.**


	2. Watching, Waiting

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing in the PJO/HoO series! It's all Rick Riordan's.**

**AN: I couldn't leave it at that. I used to dislike her but now I can't help but adore her. She's too epic. I love Reyna!**

_Wear That Mask Of Yours and Pray It Doesn't Slip_

you can never tell who's watching,

who's waiting,

who's on your side

and who's actually against you

ready to betray you in a split-second;

you can never tell.

that's why she's hardly ever seen

with a simple, peaceful expression on her face

with her hair let loose and flowing

like a raven waterfall down her back

with the creases on her forehead

all smoothed away, not forever,

but for long enough, anyway.

octavian the watcher,

the waiter,

the public speaker,

she knows he's a threat,

a very big threat.

she knows if her cold mask slips

for the smallest fraction of a moment

it could all be lost and

and

she just can't risk that.

she's doing it for them.

she's doing it all for them.

oh, how she misses jason.

at least she was sure he was on her side.

sort of sure.

sure enough, anyway.

so she sits in the chair fit for an emperor,

the purple robes off,

dark hair cascading down her back

the candle light flickering and dancing

up and down,

she watches and she waits.

it all begins soon.

she worries.

will he remember me?

she thinks.

i will die for this camp if i have to.

and from time to time,

she dreams.

**A/N: Good? Bad? OK? Let me know :D**

**Thanks for reading, it means a lot.**


	3. An Upside Down World

**AN: Published two new chapters in a day! Yay me! Anyway, it would be nice if this got at least one review, just to let me know you guys don't hate this. I really hope you don't.**

**Enjoy Chapter Three, I'll try and publish the next one ASAP.**

_An Upside Down World_

the greeks arrive

with their flying ship descending from the clear blue sky.

she watches and waits,

the daughter of pluto and the new praetor and the shapeshifter

all by her side.

she notices the dread on hazel's face

almost mirroring her own.

and as much as she tries to deny it,

their whole world is tipped

u p s i d e

d o w n

so quickly, too quickly,

and there's nothing she can do about it.

all the order was disrupted,

she couldn't enforce it again,

not with jason back,

his sky-blue eyes distant as usual,

holding the hand of a beautiful girl with choppy hair and kaleidoscope eyes

too tightly for her liking.

he forgot about her already.

it hurts more than she'd like to admit,

so reyna turns her attention back to the other newcomers.

a curly haired boy who laughs far too much,

constantly smiley,

has he no idea the trouble they're in?

doesn't he know just how dangerous things are?

apparently, he does.

but unlike reyna,

he'd rather cover up the worry

and the anger

with a grin.

she envies his ability to do so.

finally, the blonde with stormy grey eyes,

eyes the colour of the sky before and after a thunderstorm,

eyes just as dangerous as a thunderstorm,

embracing percy, their new praetor.

eyeing reyna suspiciously as though she'd harmed percy whilst she was away.

she didn't, though.

not much, anyway.

reyna watches it all, carefully keeping the mask on,

wondering if she'll ever experience the same love and compassion with anybody.

but there's no time for that, no,

there are plans to be made.

order to be kept.

it's her job, after all, to do such things.

and nobody dares think otherwise.

-x-

**AN: Good? Bad? OK? Let me know.**

**-A**


	4. Not In This Lifetime

**AN: Another chapter? Oh yeah. It looks like my Leyna feels got the better of me here. Do you think it was a good idea to write this chapter? I hope you do! Enjoy!**

_Not In This Lifetime_

and just when she thought

things couldn't get any more muddled up

he came along and seemed to stomp on the upturned tables

of a once prim and proper life.

curly hair and a cheeky smile and pointy ears,

all fun and games,

he won't leave her alone.

constantly smiling and laughing and joking

as if his laughter's contagious

as if grinning will make her grin back

and forget about her troubles

and worries

and fears

and she'll just loosen up.

if he really thinks so,

the kid's got a lot to learn.

one thing they've got in common,

however,

is that they're both third wheels.

awkward singleton in a world of happy couples,

couples holding hands and whispering sweet nothings

into each others ears

momentarily making the other forget about all the trouble and misery ahead.

another thing they've got in common is their spanish descent.

he constantly whispers her name, reyna,

with a knowing smile on his lips,

a smile that makes her feel funny.

anger, but not quite.

does he pity her?

probably.

even she pities herself.

but she doesn't want his sympathy.

she wants his respect and his admiration,

the same she expects from everyone.

and just because he smiles more than everyone does,

and just because he's constantly gazing at her like the portrait of mona lisa,

doesn't mean she'll go easy on him.

not in this lifetime.

**AN: I ship it. Rick better make it canon! If not, my heart will burn. He already killed of BabyLukey and ruined any chances of Thaluke happening. He can't hurt me like that again! :'(**

**Anyway, the next chapter is going to be the last. I believe writing more and more will kill the mood. My mind will probably change later on, but for now, see ya!**

**-A**


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